Crossing Quinn (Coletti Warlords)

by Gail Koger

  Quinn asked curiously, “Where did you get Tai-Kok blood?”

  “We had a little run-in with one of their scout ships during a supply run. Mami wanted a sample of their blood, and Papa was happy to oblige.”

  “Nothing quite as enjoyable as killing those drekking monsters,” Papa said.

  A brilliant orange light popped into existence on the bridge.

  “Adan is back,” I informed Quinn

  Papa inquired, “Who is Adan?”

  “A Katanic shapeshifter,” Quinn replied.

  “Where the drekk did you meet a Katanic?”

  “Long story, Papa.”

  “Adan can teleport through shields,” Quinn stated.

  I let out a relieved breath. “I’ll send him down to retrieve you.”

  The spinning light accelerated until a vortex formed. Bolts of green lightning crackled wildly around the growing opening.

  Who knew Adan could be useful? First, I would have him rescue Papa and Quinn and then have him leave my thermite grenade in the engine room of one of the Tai-Kok ships. I smiled at the thought of sending those monsters straight to the ninth hell. Of course, we would have to come up with a creative way to blow the other ship into itty-bitty pieces.

  Adan and a strange Coletti warrior stepped out of the vortex. The warrior’s battle suit fit him like a glove, emphasizing every bulging muscle. He wore a bronze communications bracelet on his left wrist, and a bronze chain was woven into his ebony warrior braids. A goatee emphasized his high cheekbones.

  I fought back a grin. Slime dripped off his nose and ran down his spiffy boots. “Who are you?”

  “Wulf. The Overlord thought Quinn might need backup.”

  I flashed Quinn his image. “Do you know this warrior? He says his name is Wulf.”

  “I do. You can trust him. His mate is my cousin.”

  “Small world. The Overlord sent him and Adan as backup.”

  “Brief him on the situation,” Quinn instructed.

  I smiled at Wulf. “Quinn said I can trust you.”

  “Good,” Wulf said absently as he stared down at my mother. “Does she need medical care?”

  “Eeyore. Eeyore. Eeyore.”

  I gave Adan the evil eye. “It’s not funny.”

  “Eeyore. Eeyore. Eeyore. Eeyore. Eeyore.” Adan kept on laughing and laughing and laughing.

  I gave Adan the one-finger salute and turned to Wulf. “My mother is taking a brief nap.”

  “Nap?”

  “Her mother is a very talented nap taker,” Adan commented dryly.

  “And she chooses to nap on the deck?”

  Wulf’s incredulous expression would have been amusing if there weren’t two Tai-Kok ships hovering nearby. “Does it really matter?”

  “Elderly females are to be protected.”

  “Do not under any circumstance tell my mother she is old,” I said, fighting down the urge to scream loudly or kick him in the nuts.

  “Deep breaths, darlin’. Just tell Wulf about the Tai-Kok ships and our situation.”

  Arrgh. Like I wanted to talk about my mother’s tendency to faint all the time? I noticed a piece of chocolate on the floor beside Mami. I really needed that chocolaty goodness. Before I could grab it, Wulf scooped it up. He was a dead man.

  Wulf frowned. “Why are your eyes glowing?”

  “They get that way right before she shoots you,” Adan supplied helpfully.

  Quinn interjected, “Give her the chocolate, Wulf. Quickly.”

  “Ah, it is that time of the month.” Wulf tossed me the chocolate.

  I caught it. “Do you have a death wish?”

  “Xenia! Focus on the task at hand. You can always kill him later,” Papa barked.

  True. “I know riding the vortex plays havoc on psychic abilities, but how can you not sense two ships full of Tai-Kok warriors?” I pointed to the view screen.

  Wulf’s head snapped around, and his gaze fixed on the ships. “That does explain the need for chocolate.”

  “Adan, I need you to retrieve Quinn and my father from the cavern beneath the city.” I fed him the coordinates.

  “Yes, my lady.” The incandescent orange light whirled madly until a vortex formed. Adan stepped inside. Slurppp! He was gone.

  Wulf made his slimy self at home in the pilot’s seat and checked the scanners. “Quinn has found a mate that matches his temperament.”

  I think he’d just insulted me. “Like living dangerously, do you?”

  “I am a warlord.” Wulf grinned. “You are very much like my Yakira.”

  “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.”

  An orange glow filled the bridge, and green lightning crackled like fiery snakes around the walls. The vortex spat out Adan, Papa, and Quinn.

  Papa was a bloody mess. His gaze fell on Mami.

  I linked with my father. “Mami took one look at the Tai-Kok ships and over she went.”

  Papa tugged on his left ear. “Did Dolon harm her?”

  “No.”

  Quinn clasped Wulf’s arm in the typical warrior greeting, totally ignoring the dripping slime. “Yakira is well?”

  “She is.” Wulf offered his arm to my father. “It is an honor to meet you, Lysis. Your battle exploits are legendary.”

  Papa grasped Wulf’s arm. “The Overlord must be really worried to send one of his best enforcers to assist us.” He tightened his grip.

  Wulf retaliated.

  An amused smile curled Quinn’s mouth.

  “We do not have time for this macho posturing, Papa,” I snapped mentally on our private link. “Remember we have Tai-Kok to kill and Dolon to find?”

  “Yes, daughter.” Papa released Wulf’s arm.

  Quinn placed a cautious kiss on my forehead. “How are you holding up?”

  “I want to kill something.”

  “I know the feeling.” He handed me a chocolate. “Soon, my love, there will be monsters to slay.” He stared at the Tai-Kok ships filling the view screen.

  Mami chose that moment to wake up. She took one look at Papa’s blood-covered body, let out an ear-shattering shriek, and fainted again.

  I sighed.

  “That can’t be good for her,” Wulf commented.

  “Eeyore. Eeyore. Eeyore.”

  Adan’s braying was getting on my last nerve.

  “Why don’t you go clean up, Lysis? All that blood is upsetting Eleni. Xenia and I will keep an eye on her,” Quinn offered.

  Adan started laughing again. “Eeyore. Eeyore. Eeyore.”

  My father’s voice was soft and menacing, “I’ve never killed a Katanic shapeshifter, but if you don’t stop laughing, you will be the first.”

  Adan morphed into a huge Gourman. They always reminded me of a prehistoric werewolf with six-inch fangs and talons. “Try it, old man.”

  “Has everyone lost their drekking minds? We should be killing the Tai-Kok, not trying to kill each other!” I shouted.

  The testosterone level dropped.

  Adan switched back to his teenage wizard form. “My apologies. I get bad-tempered when I haven’t eaten.”

  “You didn’t eat any of the Gur?”

  “I was too busy digging Clio out to eat. The main herd was stampeding toward us, and we needed to move to a safer place,” Adan answered.

  “Lucky for you, there are two ships full of yummy Tai-Koks to munch on,” I said.

  Adan scowled. “The metal teeth give me indigestion.”

  “Spit them out,” I replied without an ounce of sympathy.

  Wulf announced, “The Tai-Kok warriors just transported back to their ship with five captives.”

  Papa and I exchanged horrified looks.

  “Is there something you’re not telling us?” Quinn’s eyes suddenly widened in alarm. “An obsidian sphere called the Shebu, which is a source of unfathomable power.”

  The mind meld had given my warlord access to my memories. I nodded. “Dolon has my communication bracelet. If he broke the encryption, he kno
ws everything about the Shebu and what it can do. They must think Nilus can tell them where to find it.”

  My father cursed colorfully in several different languages. “We cannot allow the Tai-Kok to possess it.”

  Wulf’s mouth tightened into a grim line. “Is the Shebu a weapon?”

  “It powered and shielded the Nabateans’ cities for over ten thousand years,” I answered, showing him a mental image of a large obsidian sphere. “The Wadjet, a religious sect, wanted to use it as a weapon to destroy the infidels who refused to worship their gods. They stole the Shebu and left the Nabatean people to die.”

  “From what we have deciphered, the Nabatean rulers sent their best hunters after the Wadjet,” Papa added.

  I said bleakly, “The hunters killed the Wadjet and retrieved the Shebu.”

  “But by then the damage had been done and millions had died,” Quinn finished, borrowing the information from my mind.

  Papa rubbed his scruffy beard. “The Nabateans fled their world, taking the Shebu and their treasure with them. We were very close to discovering where they went when Nilus attacked.”

  “It will take Nilus weeks if not longer to go through all our data. Hopefully, the Tai-Kok will eat them before he can decipher the glyphs,” I said.

  Wulf asked, “How long will it take to finish the translations?”

  “Mami had interpreted the last glyph when Dolon showed up,” I responded.

  Everyone stared down at Mami thoughtfully. Had she found the location of the Nabateans’ new world?

  “We cannot allow the Tai-Kok to take the Shebu. With its power, they would be unstoppable,” Papa declared.

  My stomach roiled. With their insatiable hunger, the monsters would eat their way across the galaxy, leaving behind worlds emptied of life. If we didn’t stop them, billions would die. I pulled out the thermite grenade. “Feel like gifting this to one of the Tai-Kok destroyer’s engine room, Adan?”

  “It would be my honor. The dead must be avenged,” Adan replied, taking it.

  Quinn patted his pockets and grumbled on our private link, “You’re a sticky-fingered little thief.”

  “I just took back what was mine.”

  Giving me the evil eye, Quinn sat down in the pilot’s seat. “I’ll move the Talon behind the moon and wait for you, Adan.”

  A brilliant orange glow popped into existence and spun rapidly.

  “Too bad we don’t have a way to give the Tai-Kok some var bugs,” I said

  “Yes, it would be a fitting punishment.” Adan morphed into his true form and stepped into the vortex. Slurppp! He was gone.

  Papa watched closely. “Amazing.”

  “You look like the walking dead, Papa. Go clean up; we need Mami conscious.”

  He nodded and left.

  Wulf announced, “The Overlord has been informed. He is gathering a battle fleet to stop the Tai-Kok.”

  I kneeled beside my mother and patted her face. “Wake up, Mami. We need you.”

  She opened her eyes. “Got chocolate?”

  “We do,” Quinn answered.

  Chapter Twelve

  I helped my mother off the floor. Her eyes widened when she spotted Wulf standing next to the command console. “Who is that? What is he doing here? Where is Lysis?”

  I quickly said, “This is Wulf. He’s here to help us stop the Tai-Kok from getting their hands on the Shebu, and Papa is cleaning up.”

  My mother’s face paled dramatically. “Oh Goddess. Oh Goddess. That can’t happen. That can’t happen.”

  “Focus, Mami. Do you know where the Nabateans went?”

  “I think. Maybe. I’m so confused. Where’s Lysis?”

  Quinn held out a French Mint. “Maybe this will help.”

  “I don’t like you.” Mami snatched the candy out of his hand. “You shot me.”

  “You shot her?” Wulf looked a bit annoyed.

  I gave Wulf an irritated glare. “She deserved it.”

  “Xenia!” Mami protested.

  “Mami,” I countered.

  Mami patted Quinn’s hand. “I’m sorry I shot you.”

  “Twice,” I prompted.

  “Twice.”

  Being a smart male, Quinn gave Mami another piece of chocolate and said, “Apology accepted.”

  “I need you to concentrate, Mami. Where did the Nabateans go?”

  “Earth.”

  Everyone exclaimed in unison, “Earth?”

  “Yes.” Mami ate her chocolate. “Earth.”

  Quinn demanded, “Where on Earth?”

  “Somewhere in the Middle East. Possibly southern Jordan. To be sure, I need to calculate the coordinates again.”

  The command computer announced, “Explosion detected.”

  I turned my attention to the tracking scanner. One of the ships had been turned into space debris. “The second Tai-Kok destroyer is leaving orbit.”

  “It’s engaging its warp drive,” Quinn said.

  Wulf tapped a computer icon. “It has Nilus and the other captives onboard. Any chance Nilus is working with the Tai-Kok?”

  “No. Only my uncle is that stupid,” I replied.

  “I was able to place an acoustic tag on the engines. We should be able to track it,” Quinn stated.

  Papa stepped onto the bridge.

  “Lysis!” Mami jumped up and wrapped her arms around him. “You scared me to death.”

  “You know I’m hard to kill, Eleni.” Papa kissed her gently.

  An incandescent orange light formed in midair.

  “He’s back,” I quipped.

  The light spun faster and faster and faster until it became a vortex. Slashes of lightning danced and pulsed over the walls.

  Papa pushed Mami behind him. “Does the vortex always do that?”

  “Yes,” I replied.

  Adan rolled out of the maelstrom. With a loud pop, it vanished.

  “The second ship got away,” I groused.

  Adan changed back into his favorite wizard form. “Not entirely. I gave them a gift.”

  “Gift?”

  “Of var bugs.” Adan waggled his eyebrows.

  I gaped at him. “How did you manage that?”

  “Ate them. Those nasty creatures are quite hardy. When I spit them out, they immediately attacked the Tai-Kok warriors in the engine room.”

  Papa stared at him in utter disbelief. “How many did you gift them with?”

  “More than a thousand,” Adan replied.

  The thought of the Tai-Kok warriors doing Dolon’s funny wiggling jig as the bugs attacked had me giggling. “You’re an alien anteater.”

  “This is the var bugs’ hatching season. Most of them are carrying up to a hundred eggs,” Mami added with an evil smile.

  A murderous delight flashed across Quinn’s face. “Hell, Qeeturah style.”

  At Wulf’s confused expression, I sent him mental images of the bugs and Dolon’s sore-covered body. “Now the Tai-Kok get to discover what it feels like to be munched on.”

  Wulf threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Your mate will fit in perfectly with the other Jones family females, Quinn.”

  “Xenia does have the chaos gene,” Quinn agreed.

  Papa nodded. “That she does. Xenia inherited it from her mother.”

  “From me?” Mami snorted. “The chaos gene comes from your side of the family.”

  The communications link blinked. Wonder who was hailing us?

  Quinn tapped an icon, and Zarek appeared on the view screen. “Have you located the Nabateans’ new world?”

  “Earth,” Wulf answered.

  A sardonic smile curved Zarek’s mouth. “Why am I not surprised?”

  A holographic map appeared with the Middle East highlighted.

  “Eleni believes the Nabatean people took refuge in southern Jordan,” Papa said.

  “I will notify Earth’s Central Command. They can get the military to search the area,” Zarek stated. “Any further updates?”

  “Adan
gifted the Tai-Kok destroyer with a few var bugs,” I said.

  Mami interjected, “Tai-Kok blood is like chocolate to the beasties.”

  “How difficult are the var bugs to capture?” Zarek leaned forward in his chair.

  I took one look at Zarek’s avid gaze and grinned. He reminded me of a hunter intent on finding a new way to trap his prey.

  Papa replied, “If you are wearing Eleni’s bug repellant, not difficult at all. We used a suction device to obtain samples.”

  “Geema!” Clio in her toddler form climbed up on Zarek’s communication console and held her arms out. “Want Geema. Want Geema.”

  Zarek picked her up. “No. It’s not safe.”

  “Want Geema.” Clio pouted. “Now!”

  “No,” Zarek said firmly and put her on the floor.

  A tiny orange light popped into existence.

  My eyes widened in alarm. “That can’t be good.”

  “Relax. Clio is too young to teleport,” Adan reassured me.

  A small maelstrom formed.

  “Really?”

  Adan shouted, “No, Clio!”

  “Me go to Geema.” Clio reverted to her true form and jumped into the vortex. Slurppp! She was gone.

  “Oh Goddess,” Mami gasped. “My baby. My poor baby.” She smacked Adan on the chest. “Do something.”

  Miniature bolts of lightning danced over the floor. A tiny orange glow formed. It flickered wildly.

  “Help her, Adan,” I demanded.

  He touched the light. It grew larger and larger until a vortex formed. Adan reached inside and yanked Clio out.

  Her little body heaved and shook. “Monster chased me. No like.”

  A monster or an Executioner? If the Executioners thought Adan wasn’t taking good care of Clio, they wouldn’t be happy. The last thing we needed was for them to pay us a visit.

  “Never. Ever. Do that again,” Adan scolded.

  Clio wrapped her tentacles around his neck. “Me sorry.”

  “The child is uninjured?” There was genuine concern in Zarek’s voice.

  “Me hungry.”

  “I would say that is a yes,” I commented.

  Mami plucked her from Adan’s arms. “When we get to Earth, I’m taking you to the Magic Kingdom.”

  “What magic?”

  Adan took Clio back and snarled at my mother, “No. You are not.”

  “It’s every child’s right to experience the wonder, the fun, the excitement, the fireworks, and the mouse,” Mami countered.